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Public engagement by researchers
03 March 2010
By Simon Smith
I've always been enthusiastic about the idea that as researchers we should be trying to engage the public(s) in one way or another - in line with the REF definition of research as "a process of investigation leading to new insights effectively shared" (paragraph 24). Often, however, I've not been altogether satisfied with how well I've managed to do so. A lot of the research I've done has relied on the goodwill of people in various organisations such as local authorities and not-for-profit organisations to make themselves available for lengthy interviews, or to help me make contact with other people I need to talk to. Usually, all I've been able to give them back is a research report, and sometimes I've had to doubt whether it's been of much use or interest to them. As for communicating more widely, I have to admit I've mostly not gone far beyond 'getting things in the public domain' by means of academic publications. The main exception was a project for which we needed volunteers from the public, whom we tried to recruit (with increasing desperation) through the local press, radio and TV, and it was simple to renew those contacts later when we had some findings to talk about. That was very rewarding, but it was the exception.
Recently I came across a report from Switzerland on a piece of research that mapped the public engagement activities of all the research staff at the University of Lausanne, having asked them about their attitudes towards it and experiences of it. They boiled their conclusions down to what they call five paradoxes of public engagement:
- researchers feel that it's important, but they don't do as much of it as this would lead you to expect;
- they feel it's worthwhile even though they get no credit for it (it hardly benefits their career);
- most do try to share the insights from their research, despite the fact that it's a tough thing to do;
- but they tend to communicate more with the publics that already have easy access to research findings (professionals, decision-makers and the media) instead of with those who don't (the general public, schools and young people);
- surprisingly (?) the people who do most public engagement are also the people who communicate more with their peers (i.e. who publish more academic articles).
Is it reassuring to know that even in Switzerland my experience seems fairly typical?
Not sure, as they don't come up with an easy solution, except to recommend that more training, support, reward, etc. should be forthcoming for researchers who want to engage with the public. Less than half of the Lausanne researchers, for instance, had had any dealings with the university press office - generally, researchers made their own approaches to the media. So media training courses like the one Liz blogged about here would be useful for many of us.
But there's an argument that says we should be able to expect support from professionals in communications and knowledge transfer - after all, our universities employ plenty of them! Should it not be a matter of routine, at a certain point during your research, that you're prompted by your press office or KT manager to say what support you'd like/need in order to get a message out? Or maybe it is where you work?
Tennie Videler04 March 2010 at 01:13 PM
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I think it does depend on where you work how much emphasis is placed on outreach and public engagement. There are also other, national agencies that can support your efforts such as STEM ambassadors: http://www.stemnet.org.uk/ambassadors.cfm and researchers in residence: http://www.researchersinresidence.ac.uk/cms/researchers/
Blanka Sengerová05 March 2010 at 04:55 PM
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The charity Sense About Science was set up with an aim to promote evidence-based understanding of science amongst the public in the wake of the MMR scare in the media. They have a huge list of scientists and researchers that co-operate with them and that help with this aim, and have published a number of easy to understand guides for the public such as 'Making sense of radiation', 'Making sense of screening', 'Making sense of homeopathy', etc. etc., have a look on http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/ The first time I came across them is when I attended a 'Standing up for Science' media workshop. The atendees of these workshops run over time have become the basis of the Voice of Young Science network, and have been involved in many projects such as 'Theregoes the science bit' and 'Detox' (publications debunking the sometimes extraordinary claims of many manufacturers of what they advertise as magic cures). Have a look here: http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/index.php/site/about/11/ The next media workshop is on 19th March, maybe some spots are still available, otherwise look out for one in future... http://www.senseaboutscience.org.uk/PDF/Manchester_flyer0310.pdf
Matthew Salois08 March 2010 at 09:34 AM
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You are right, Simon, the public engagement should be a matter of routine and your are keen to point out yet another paradox -- that despite the resources available it remains a costly chore for most researchers. I think this comes down to incentives. As you noted, while researcher "feel it's worthwhile even though they get no credit for it (it hardly benefits their career)". The fact is that generally such engagement does not help a researcher's career, at least where it counts. In an age where tenure is the prize and publications are the currency, public engagement looks like just another obstacle in the road towards the 'meaningful' matters. This has to change if public engagement is going to be taken seriously. Universities and the tenure process must recognize public engagement and reward it accordingly if this is going to be an active component of a researcher's career.
Simon Smith08 March 2010 at 04:29 PM
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Tennie & Blanka - thanks for the links. Interesting that these programmes tend to be aimed at natural/physical scientists. Does that imply that social scientists, health scientists or arts scholars are expected to know how to engage with the public as part of the job? Matthew - your experience seems quite typical. The Royal Society commissioned a survey that reported similar complaints in 2006: "success in research and obtaining funding for their department are the keys to career advancement. Researchers, especially in their early careers, therefore focus on these". (http://www.peoplescienceandpolicy.com/projects/survey_scientists.php) I thought the Swiss findings were especially notable since Switzerland has such a strong participatory culture - so if scientists there are not inclined to engage with the public, there doesn't seem much hope for the rest of the world! Is anyone at a University that is one of the Beacons for Public Engagement? In case you don't know, this is a project funded by Research Councils UK and the Wellcome Trust, with the grand aim "to change the culture in universities, assisting staff and students to engage with the public". See http://www.publicengagement.ac.uk/beacons I'd be curious to know if there are any effects being felt 'on the ground'.